Nitrous vs Turbo pro/con advice needed

[JustSomeGuy]

So i decided to build a f22a for my car. Yay me. Im having an issue though. I cant decide if i want to build for turbo or nitrous. The only thing ive bought so far is a set of wiseco forged pistons. They are supposedly for a 9:0 compression. (Ill get stats off the box in the morning). Can i get some points of view and pros and cons about the two to help me decide which route i want to go before i start ordering more parts so i can order the right stuff. Im not completely new to building engines but my last 2 were my first two engines and i built them for all motor applications. I just wanna get it right ya know. Let the opinions roll....

[wed3k]

HONESTLY, you'll spend quite a bit of money to get a nitrous kit to work well. you just dont need the kit but also need a heater, remote switches and tuning time.

plus, what happens when youre off the bottle?

the turbo is always there and working. free hp.

lately ive been addicted to superchargers but for high hp numbers, they arent efficient but very streetable.

[JustSomeGuy]

Yea. Personally im leaning towards turbo. I just want to get mixed opinions on both ya know. Kinda like i want to hear both sides of the story.

[Grumpys93]

plus, what happens when youre off the bottle?

the turbo is always there and working. free hp.

This^
i was thinking the same thing. once the bottle is empty u went from say 200whp back to 106whp in less then a split second
Plus u have to constantly pay to get your bottle refilled unlike a turbo

[Law Grandeur]

turbo!

[visualpoet]

HONESTLY, you'll spend quite a bit of money to get a nitrous kit to work well. you just dont need the kit but also need a heater, remote switches and tuning time.

plus, what happens when youre off the bottle?

the turbo is always there and working. free hp.

lately ive been addicted to superchargers but for high hp numbers, they arent efficient but very streetable.

Actually, you can have a wet kit in and working perfectly for less that $500 bucks and less than two hours. The amount of tuning required for a 50hp shot is: NOTHING. 75 hp: one or two step colder spark plugs. 100 hp: Two step colder plugs and retard the timing a couple of degrees. The heater is only necessary at the track for pulling multiple runs frequently, for an occasional shot, you don't need it. That's pretty much it for tuning. No ECU modding, no dyno tuning, nothing. Most of the companies sell kits with WOT switches, making them damn near idiot proof.
Yes, it does cost to fill the bottle, about $3-5 a pound depending on where you go. How much use you get out of each pound depnds on the size of your shot, and how often you spray it.

How much does it cost to get a snail set up to run 50 extra hp? How much tuning time do you need to run a turbo? When you're off the bottle, you're driving a normal N/A car. What happens when your turbo quits?


Apparently the way nitrous works is a mystery to some people. It's not a constant use thing like turbo or SC. It's not a matter of going from 200hp to 106 when the bottle is empty, it's a matter of ALWAYS being at 106, but having an additional 50-75-100 at WOT. (numbers are for explanation only)
I recommend building your motor N/A, having it dynoed, and then running half the hp for your nitrous shot. There's some really good information in the nitrous section here, and google can be a big help as well.

[JustSomeGuy]

Actually, you can have a wet kit in and working perfectly for less that $500 bucks and less than two hours. The amount of tuning required for a 50hp shot is: NOTHING. 75 hp: one or two step colder spark plugs. 100 hp: Two step colder plugs and retard the timing a couple of degrees. The heater is only necessary at the track for pulling multiple runs frequently, for an occasional shot, you don't need it. That's pretty much it for tuning. No ECU modding, no dyno tuning, nothing. Most of the companies sell kits with WOT switches, making them damn near idiot proof.
Yes, it does cost to fill the bottle, about $3-5 a pound depending on where you go. How much use you get out of each pound depnds on the size of your shot, and how often you spray it.

How much does it cost to get a snail set up to run 50 extra hp? How much tuning time do you need to run a turbo? When you're off the bottle, you're driving a normal N/A car. What happens when your turbo quits?


Apparently the way nitrous works is a mystery to some people. It's not a constant use thing like turbo or SC. It's not a matter of going from 200hp to 106 when the bottle is empty, it's a matter of ALWAYS being at 106, but having an additional 50-75-100 at WOT. (numbers are for explanation only)
I recommend building your motor N/A, having it dynoed, and then running half the hp for your nitrous shot. There's some really good information in the nitrous section here, and google can be a big help as well.

hmm, food for thought huh. It's gonna be a built f22a motor either way. So I'm guessing if I go nitrous, on the motor, with the right cam, and other goodies I could be at 150-170hp range? maybe...... the I could toss a 75-100 shot in there..... Thats actually making sense to me as i type this. I could keep my gas milage for daily driving to. And also i think my h23 transmission would be better suited for that route. hmmmmm

[wed3k]

or just stick with your f22 and f22 trans, make 250 reliable hp with a turbo and get good mileage when you keep your foot out of it.

[h22sparkle]

You can go for either it does not matter. If you want a reliable car though I would say for the amount of money that you are spending overtime to build a motor you could buy an srt4 or a boosted car cobalt etc without the reliability issues or without it having to blow up. Nitrous gets expensive overtime constantly having to fill up the bottle, turbo gets expensive through the maintenance when something does not go according to plan. Thats just my personal opinion. Remember you gotta pay the cost to be the boss.

[LadyG]

hmm, food for thought huh. It's gonna be a built f22a motor either way. So I'm guessing if I go nitrous, on the motor, with the right cam, and other goodies I could be at 150-170hp range? maybe...... the I could toss a 75-100 shot in there..... Thats actually making sense to me as i type this. I could keep my gas milage for daily driving to. And also i think my h23 transmission would be better suited for that route. hmmmmm

This^^

And the maintenance on a turbo car, monthly oil changes...premium gas....
They are expensive.
The build you described is what I wanna go with, because I can drive it as a regular car.

[toycar]

Go turbo or go home.


Thats how I feel anyways. NOS on a 4 cylinder engine is a waste of time without other stuff going for the motor already.


IMHO, just my opinion but thats alot of stress on the motor, for an occasional bump in the power. Plus, the forever cost of refilling the bottle and the idea that N20 explodes when misshandled means NOS is not ideal for me.


Then theres the whole "tune" aspect. Just because your NOS has a WOT switch, doesnt mean the air fuel mixture is ideal. It just means your STOCK ecu is throwing AS MUCH FUEL in there as it can, while your spraying. Its not like the stock ecu acheives stoich, so adding a secondary fuel supply is really just silly without a tune to go with it.


That scenario(wot) usually helps with detonation, that and under WOT the ECU adjusts ignition timing for you. You are basically piggy backing on the stock tune by not allowing any spray at any other time then at WOT.

I run a small 75 shot on my DSM to get the turbo spooling faster, and thats about it. NOS is tough on a cylinder, rings and anything really in the block. Just because a car CAN handle a small shot, doesnt mean that it WILL for long.

NOS alone=Weak sauce, catastrophe waiting to happen- in my opinion.

NOS+high compression+nice cam+individual throttle body+tune=sex on wheels.
So, if your not going to the tops with an N/A build, Turbo is where its at.


Id much rather tear the tires loose at 60mph, downshifting into 3rd at about 4500rpm's and listen to my airplane sounding whistle as my turbo is screaming.... That noise, turns heads.

My car hardly ever see's WOT during daily driving, let alone redline. BUT, my car BOV's everytime I shift, and my intercooler is sexy 24 hours a day. At 3k RPM stuff starts happeneing even under casual driving- where Im getting into nice power and loving it while maintaining 22-24 MPG's.



For me, it isnt even a debate.


The real question is whether or not you will spray after you go turbo.

[mozzandherb]

First question is, if you're already building a motor, what sort of #'s are you looking to get? I believe it's probably something high enough if you're already thinking of building up the engine??

[Tnwagn]

Id much rather tear the tires loose at 60mph, downshifting into 3rd at about 4500rpm's and listen to my airplane sounding whistle as my turbo is screaming.... That noise, turns heads.

Because building an engine is all about personal image, right?

Honestly, you would dump way more money into a properly built turbo setup than with a Nitrous setup. Like others have said, a Nitrous build is still an ordinary N/A build when you aren't on the bottle.

[rexload]

How is this "off topic"?

As for turbo vs nitrous... one does not hurt the other... when your turbo is nearly maxed out, throw some nitrous on her.

[toycar]

Because building an engine is all about personal image, right?

Honestly, you would dump way more money into a properly built turbo setup than with a Nitrous setup. Like others have said, a Nitrous build is still an ordinary N/A build when you aren't on the bottle.

I think you are assuming that since I said "turns heads" you must think I give a shit about being awesome...


Whatevers clever, that wasnt my point at all.


I couldn't disagree with you more about spending more to properly setup a turbo vs a NA build. NA is waaay more expensive when done correctly.


Now, that being said I really hope your not thinking N/A build = intake, header, exhaust, cam, NOS because to me those are just bolt on's.


A real N/A build to me costs wwaaaaayyyy more then a turbo build any day of the week. Rods + pistons + line bore + port and polish + Independant throttle body + Tune+ etc.....



To me, NOS has nothing to do with all motor natural aspiration.



I think the bottom line is we share different opinions. I think "fast" in a 4 cylinder as cutting 11's or better.


Not some "201 whp on NOS" setup.


To me, that shit is weak in terms of "fast".